I love word play. Maybe sometimes too much, but even so. For example, the question stated in today’s title can be read in two completely different ways. First, as a rather biblical-sounding phrasing of the common thought that one has to consider carefully what one should sacrifice in order to succeed, or in the self-help world, where misreading are common enough, the introduction to a discussion of a prescription for success. Secondly, though, the question is a blunt conversational retort that hinges, obviously, on the name of a certain former Blue Jay pitcher now toiling for the Boston Red Sox.
As of tonight’s game we have yet another report to file on the plus side of the re-signing of Marco Estrada with the Blue Jays last November. This one says: seven innings, one run, four hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts, 98 pitches. This one says: stranded leadoff double in first, stranded single in the fourth, gave up a run on back-to-back doubles by two non-entities named Marwyn Gonzalez and Jose Altuve in the sixth. This one says: made an awful lot of hitters look really foolish trying to hit the best changeup in baseball. This one says at the bottom, in the comments section, “now first in AL in opponents’ average, first in AL in WHIP, now fourth in AL in ERA”.
Even though he only has seven wins, thanks to abysmal run support during his starts (witness tonight, for example), the wad of positive reports in the plus file is way thicker than the paltry few negative reports. Was thirteen mil a year for three years money well spent? In the immortal words of the incomprehensible Sarah Palin, “you betcha!”
Just to keep you up to date on the world of David Price, let’s do a quick update and look at his Tuesday night outing in Seattle. After Tuesday, his record stands at 9-7, with an ERA of 4.30 for 150.2 innings pitched. Is he a workhouse this year? Absolutely. Is he a premier starter in the AL this year? Hardly. Tuesday, in Seattle, he was pitching really, really well going into the eighth inning, a three-hit shutout, no walks, and five strikeouts on only 89 pitches. So John Farrell sent him out for the eighth inning, as who wouldn’t? But he goes homer, single, single, single. Two runs in, two runners on, he’s only thrown 9 pitches and he’s gone. His two runners left come around to score on a three-run homer by Robinson Cano, given up by newly-acquired lefty Fernando Abad, who takes the loss, and Price gets saddled with four earned runs and a no decision. I love your infectious enthusiasm, David, but I love Marco’s pitching better.
The Astros started Collin McHugh, whose record has been pretty ordinary (7-7, 4.75) and has had widely differing results in his last two outings. On July 23rd, at home, he went six innings against the Angels for the win, giving up 2 runs, 6 hits, no walks, and striking out six. On the 29th, he was clobbered in Detroit: 8 runs on 10 hits with one strikeout in only one and two thirds innings. So the question for tonight was: would the real Collin McHugh (whoever he is) please stand up?
Well, he was a pretty good Collin McHugh. Now, of his last three outings, the terrible one was in Detroit, and the other two at home. Is there really a problem with the lights for the hitters in Houston’s stadium, that the Astros have solved for themselves, but that visitors can’t manage?
The pretty good Collin McHugh just met the definition of a quality start, 3 runs allowed in six innings pitched. He gave up six hits, walked one, and struck out ten Blue Jays batters. BTW, when you add the four punchouts by the two relievers who followed him, another 14 strikeouts were totted up by the Jays tonight. Their total for three games, including five extra innings: 50. LED lighting, or just typical Blue Jays hitters’ funk?
Where McHugh ran into problems was with the long ball. If there were a stat for pitchers that stated the percentage of hits allowed by a pitcher that went yard, I think 50 per cent would be pretty awful, don’t you? He gave up three homers out of six hits, and only one of them, off the bat of Jose Bautista in the sixth, went the “easy” route, to left. Josh Donaldson hit two, both opposite field, one in the fourth and one in the sixth. Another curious statistic to mention is that every single run scored by the Jays in this series, only six, to be sure, but two more than the Astros have notched, has been via the solo home run. The thing is, in six innings McHugh only allowed four other baserunners, so there wasn’t all that much opportunity to hit one out with runners on. I should mention, too, in a final nod to the quality of his start tonight, that two of the runs allowed by McHugh, three of the six hits, and the only walk, came in his last inning of work
Until the back-to-backs by Jose and Josh in the sixth, we had been watching a scoreless game until the fourth, and then a one-nothing lead being nursed along by Estrada into the sixth. After McHugh’s departure, the Houston bullpen once again stifled the Jays, so it was all up to Joe Biagini and Roberto Osuna to protect the 3-1 Toronto lead.
A.J. Hinch reached into his hat and pulled up another virgin reliever to torment the Jays. James Hoyt, nearly thirty years old, became the second oldest pitcher in Astros history to make his big league debut. (The Houston statisticians seem to enjoy digging up these obscure records.) Hoyt didn’t miss the chance to impress in this first opportunity that he’d awaited so long. He struck out Kevin Pillar and Darwin Barney, but then was betrayed by his shortstop, Carlos Correa, who booted a very easy grounder allowing Devon Travis to reach. Poor Hoyt must have thought he was back in Double A. He then wavered a little, naturally, and walked Jose Bautista, before getting Josh Donaldson to ground out to Correa, who didn’t boot it this time.
Michael Feliz finished up the last two innings for the Astros, and once again handled the Jays with ease, allowing only Russell Martin to reach on a single in the eighth inning, and striking out three. Good thing McHugh threw those gopher balls when he was in there. Marco Estrada’s sentiments exactly, I’m sure.
With Estrada finished after seven, manager John Gibbons was still in a quandary over his bullpen, despite R.A. Dickey’s strong seven innings the night before. Roberto Osuna was ready for the ninth, but he had to bridge the eighth. Jason Grilli had closed the night before, and joined a number of others on the unavailable list unless there should be a fire. Gibbie might have gone for the really dramatic and used Danny Barnes again, but the kid probably didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. So he chose a route that was only slightly less daring, and brought in Joe Biagini in one of the highest leverage spots he has yet faced. Biagini did the job for him, but speaking of a flair for the dramatic, it was quite the inning.
Jake Marisnick, a perfect example of “hitting ninth for a reason”, slapped at the first pitch from Biagini, and sent it down the right field line past Encarnacion, and ended up with a double. Then came a disaster for Devon Travis, an error that would have killed the spirits of many a pitcher in a tight game. George Springer hit an easy grounder to Darwin Barney at short, who saw that Marisnick had wandered a too far off the bag at second. He alertly threw to Travis, who had Marisnick cold, except that he neglected to catch a perfectly catchable throw. Springer was safe on a fielders’ choice, Marisnick was safe on the error, and the hole opening up in front of Biagini was a lot deeper. Marwin Gonzalez did his bit to sink our spirits by executing a perfect sac bunt, and the tying runs were in scoring position for Jose Altuve. I repeat, Jose Altuve. Oh, lordy.
With maybe a little bit of guidance from above, Biagini’s first pitch found soft contact, and Altuve, who never saw a pitch he wouldn’t swing at, sent a soft, short liner to right that Jose Bautista, playing in, caught for the second out. Marisnick held his ground, wisely. Now all Biagini had to do was dispatch the dangerous and equally free-swinging young Houston shortstop, fresh from the All-Star game. Three strikes and the inning was over, Correa standing there, in the immortal words of Ernie Harwell, “like the house by the side of the road”, caught looking. Cue a big sigh of relief from John Gibbons.
Perhaps deflated by the lost opportunity, the Astros went out meekly in the ninth, swinging early in the counts against Osuna, and making harmless contact. Osuna only threw seven pitches for the save.
The last putout was made by Justin Smoak, who settled under a foul popup by Preston Tucker right near the wall behind first. But Devon Travis almost messed up the catch with an inexcusable gaffe, his third in two innings. Before the crucial missed catch from Barney in the eighth, he had spiked a throw to first on Encarnacion in the seventh, on a routine one-out ground ball to second, which went for an error. Now, as Smoak settled under the ball, claiming the first baseman’s priority with his big trapper, here came Travis racing in behind him from second, and not backing off as Smoak made the call. Just as the ball hit Smoak’s glove, Travis crashed into the wall and into Smoak from behind, knocking Smoak off balance. It’s a miracle that Smoak held onto the ball. The last thing you want to do is butcher the final out of the game on an easy popup when you’re protecting a three-one lead. I can’t help but think Travis’ batting woes in this series had gotten into his head to the point where he just wasn’t focussing in the field, because these were three really bad boners from a normally cool and collected young man.
Let me finish with this: I started out this piece by stating yet again how glad I am that we have Marco Estrada pitching for us and David Price pitching for Boston (at his price, at any rate) But what about the rest of this rotation? Tonight’s start by Estrada marked a full five-man turn of the rotation in which every pitcher went seven innings. With Jay Happ on the mound tomorrow night, we can have every hope of extending this streak to six. Would anyone care to do some digging and find out if any other team in baseball, or at least in the American League, since it’s obvious that it’s easier to pitch to eight good hitters in the NL than to nine good hitters in the AL, has had this kind of a run this year? I bet not.
Oh, not quite finished: I did not miss the fact that Jose Bautista reached an important milestone last night, I just neglected to include it in my report. Bautista’s home run in the third inning off Lance McCullers last night was his career 300th. He is now the tenth active player to have reached that milestone. Keep in mind that Edwin Encarnacion is sitting at 297, and should join Bautista at 300 anon. What a treat it has been to watch these two hit most of their career home runs for our favourite team! May we continue to watch at least one of them in 2017. Thanks to the wonders of Word Press, I could have just updated last night’s story to include Bautista’s feat, but after spending a significant part of my life studying Soviet Russia under Lenin and Stalin, I am reluctant to do something that could leave me open to the charge of falsifying history!
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